


On the ground, lost and found, understand me.

by penaltyboxed



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2019-2020 NHL Season, Detroit Red Wings, First Kiss, Haircuts, M/M, Pet Ownership - Freeform, Polyamory Negotiations, meditations on injuries that put you out of the game for three to four weeks, veganism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:23:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penaltyboxed/pseuds/penaltyboxed
Summary: Andreas didn’t really… like, get it, but Fabbs clearly meant a lot to Tyler, and Tyler was important to Andreas, and Fabbs had played some pretty righteous hockey with him when they were on the second line together.So it was fine.
Relationships: Andreas Athanasiou/Robby Fabbri, Andreas Athanasiou/Tyler Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou/Tyler Bertuzzi/Robby Fabbri, Tyler Bertuzzi/Robby Fabbri
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	On the ground, lost and found, understand me.

“Hey, what do you think about Fabbs?” Tyler asked, his ear pressed against the muscle of Andreas’ thigh, feet tucked up against the arm of the couch. He had curled tightly into a shape smaller than he should logistically be able to squeeze himself into. The TV was on with the volume low. They were supposed to be watching this late-night documentary about aliens and government conspiracies until they passed out on the couch. Standard fare for a sleepover at Tyler’s place. Aspen was already knocked out on the floor beneath the couch, her feet twitching like she was dreaming about running and chasing something.

“Um,” Andreas stalled, trying to anticipate where Tyler was steering this conversation towards. Sometimes, talking with him felt like playing card games. He can barely plan what to do with his own hand, can’t find what Tyler’s giveaway is exactly, and Andreas just panics that in the end he’ll only ever be able to fold because of Tyler. 

_I like that he’s already given the team everything he has--_ “I want him to tell me how he plucks his eyebrows, I guess.”

“Wait, he plucks his eyebrows?” Tyler moved his head a little bit, getting comfortable against Andreas’ lap.

“Saw the tweezers in his stall like, last week during practice, dude. Next to his tape and everything. Heavy duty CVS kind of tweezers.” Andreas reported back solemnly.

All Tyler said was _wow_ with an amused exhale of air. Not even a real laugh. 

Andreas braved a glance down to his lap. Tyler’s hair was tucked back behind his ears and he was staring steadfastly at the screen like everything is very normal and fine and chill right now.

“Why’d you ask?” 

Tyler was quiet. Andreas felt it when he sighed.

“We used to be really close at school and Guelph and everything. I dunno, I just want the rest of the team to like him now too. He was whining at me about moving his whole life here and not having shit to do besides hockey.” 

Andreas looked back up to the TV. A terrible graphic of a UFO was photoshopped above a clip of Stonehenge. Tyler’s breath was warm as it spread over his leg. Somewhere on the floor below them there was bag of spiced rice-cracker crispy things that Tyler kept in the snack cabinet for Andreas. Tyler knew he missed eating Hot Cheetos and was trying his very best to accommodate the vegan thing, despite not really understanding how it worked, now that Andreas was spending more and more time over. 

“You’re still, like, friends now though, right?” Andreas wasn’t blind, he’d seen them goofing around together during dull moments at practice, like they were still teenagers on skates. It was kind of sweet to watch them clearly so at-ease around each other. Still though, Andreas had seen and duly noted it when Robby apparently was strong enough to keep both of Tyler’s wrists pinned back in a wrestling match a few days ago. They were still in their skates, both grinning wickedly at each other and wobbling precariously. Dylan hooked Robby in the ankle with his stick and eventually managed to pry him off of Tyler so practice could progress, like their chaos was an afterthought to him. Still though, Andreas saw, and had thoughts about it after.

Andreas didn’t really… like, _get it,_ but Fabbs clearly meant a lot to Tyler, and Tyler was important to Andreas, and Fabbs had played some pretty righteous hockey with him when they were on the second line together. So it was fine. Tyler rolled over onto his back and smiled up at Andreas. 

“Yeah. Why? You jealous?” 

“Yuck. You wish, dude.” Andreas flicked Tyler in the forehead. “I like him. He’s a good dude.” 

Aspen suddenly barked, startling herself awake on accident. She looked around blearily. Tyler rolled, unceremoniously, off of the sofa and crawled on his knees to go coddle his dog. Aspen was tired but licked all over the palms of Tyler’s hands, which made him laugh sweetly just to himself before he ruffled up Aspen’s fur. And even after seeing it a thousand times, Andreas still noticed the missing teeth in Tyler’s smile, felt his heart skip around a bit, and then got incredibly skeptical of his own bad taste. Not having a front tooth isn’t cute, so like, by-the-by, having two missing front teeth shouldn’t be cute at all. But Tyler could be endearing enough sometimes, like when he gets on his knees to plant silly kisses on his sleepy dog’s face. Then Aspen sneezed on him and Andreas got to laugh.

“I think this show kind of sucks, wanna go to bed instead?” Tuzzi asked while he rubbing Aspen’s sneeze off with the sleeve of his hoodie.

“God, I thought you’d never ask.” Andreas replied, already scooping Aspen up off the ground and heading towards Tyler’s bedroom with her in his arms. She put her chin down against Andreas’ shoulder, already used to being the baby. Tyler was left behind on the floor with his on-screen aliens still making the living room glow blue-green in the dark. 

“Make sure the TV’s off before you come to bed, dude.”  


* * *

  
It wasn’t shocking to come out of the showers after practice and see Tyler still hanging around the locker room, already dressed and dried off and waiting for Andreas. That was practically expected at this point, because Tyler manages to shower in ice cold water in less than five minutes before all of the boys are even off the ice for some reason, and Andreas feels like he morally has to indulge in boiling hot showers with great water pressure, regardless of where he is.

What was surprising, though, was to walk into the locker room and see Fabbs sitting in Andreas’ locker, with Tyler sitting in Robby’s locker, the two of them chatting amicably in the corner of the empty room. Tyler noticed Andreas first, and let out a long whistle. 

“Hot stuff’s comin’ through, Detroit, watch out!” Robby shouted. At least the locker room was empty aside from them.

“Dubs, when did you turn into the Greek fucken gun-show, ‘ey bud?” Tyler asked, grabbing at the towel around Andreas’ waist, trying to torment him. “You never come to the gym with me, when did this happen? What happened to my little waif of a boyfriend?” 

“Tuzzi, you go to the gym in the middle of the night because you’re a freak. And you checked me out like, eight times this morning.” Andreas swatted Tyler’s paws away and held tight to his towel. He turned to Fabbs. 

“Are you sitting on my clothes?”

“Wish I was, Dre.” Robby reached around and then held out a neatly folded pile of Andreas’ street-clothes from behind where he was sitting along the bench. 

“He folded your hoodie real carefully ‘cause he wanted to impress you.” Tyler said as Andreas began to get dressed in front of them; underwear, pants, shirt, hoodie. Nothing that neither hadn’t seen already so there was no reason to get shy now.

But when he had finally tugged the collar of his pullover over his head, Robby looked kind of… embarrassed?

“Really?” 

“Just figured you’d like your things to be neat.” Robby explained, making a face that was a peaceful neutral. His ears were red, though. Tyler swung a hand out sideways and smacked Robby in the gut with the back of his hand playfully, which broke his composure.

“Ain’t he just a charmer? Robert, you’re gonna be a real heartbreaker some day.” Tyler said.

“Be nice.” Andreas said at the same moment that Robby wheezed out a laugh and asked, “Anyone else wanna go get hammered?” 

Tyler jumped up, made his way out of the locker room with Robby hot on his heels, “Oh, fer sure.”

Andreas didn’t even have his shoes on yet.  


* * *

  
Maybe Tampa had some kind of personal vengeance against Detroit for stealing Yzerman back home to be their GM instead, or maybe it was just some typical hockey shit gone too far, but sitting in the visitor’s locker room and being told he couldn’t play for the rest of the game, or a few weeks _at least_, and definitely wouldn’t play the Sharks in the next game? 

Well, that hurt way more than Andreas’ throbbing knee ever could.  


* * *

  
Aspen was definitely and absolutely and undoubtedly Tyler’s dog. That said, Andreas loved her nearly as much as Tyler did, and therefore had to split the duties of taking care of her whenever he came over, which was why he didn’t make a fuss when after already going up all the stairs to Tyler’s floor, he was handed a leash and immediately got kicked back outside with Aspen. She sat politely at his feet in the hallway, licking the fabric at the knee of his sweatpants. She was a good girl, but like, definitely a weird one.

“Dinner will be ready in like, twenty minutes, take her round the block or something and we can eat after, ‘kay?” Tyler had told him firmly, spatula still in-hand. 

What Andreas had said back was, “Oh, okay. Be back in fifteen, I guess.” before he slipped the handle around his wrist and left with the dog. 

Andreas did take her around the block, walking slowly to appreciate the unseasonably warm early Winter weather. Aspen stopped sniff at patches of grass and cement whenever she pleased, which was often, but it just made Andreas smile; there wasn’t really a rush. The tension in his knee would only let him go so fast, anyways. It was probably the last nice day before things started to get bitterly cold in Detroit, and Andreas had no qualms about enjoying it while it lasted. 

Tyler didn’t usually cook dinner for them both, not because he wasn’t bad at cooking per se, but because he still got embarrassed about having to ask if it’s cool for Andreas to eat something or not so often. 

Eventually, a chilly breeze blew through Andreas’ jacket and made him shiver. Aspen had the same idea and began walking faster in the direction of the apartments to take Andreas home.

He said hi to the security guard again and made the trek back up the stairs. No one greeted him at the door, which was unlocked, but Tyler shouted something from the kitchen when he heard the door open and close. Andreas unclipped Aspen’s leash and let her trot off into the apartment. He kicked off his own shoes and followed her into the kitchen. 

Tyler was sitting on the counter like a kid, and Robby was stirring something that smelled, frankly, fucking delicious in the big pot on the stove. He threw a glance over his shoulder and smiled brightly at Andreas as he cautiously entered the kitchen. Having Robby over for dinner was a surprise, but like, not a terrible one. Andreas was happy to see him, he realized.

“Nice timing, Dubs. Spicy white bean stew, wanna grab the bowls down?” Robby asked and turned back to the stovetop. Andreas stared at Tyler who looked… just so unbearably pleased with the whole situation, and then decided, y’know, fuck it. Robby made dinner and that was great. He went to get the bowls down. Aspen had come in to see what was going on and Tyler immediately hopped down to pet her.

“I set the table.” Tyler told Andreas while Aspen sniffed around Tyler’s hands. 

“You put napkins down and grabbed three beers, ‘set the table’ is a bit of a reach, bud.” Robby said. He turned the stove off. 

“‘Kay but I found the recipe. It’s from the New York Times cooking newsletter and everything!”

“Isn’t that a little high-brow for you?” Andreas teased.

“Ouch. I subject myself to emails that have recipes with vegetables and shit because I like you and this is how you thank me?”

Andreas stuck his good leg out to kick Tyler in the ass while he walked by but Tyler rolled out of the way too fast and Andreas dared not to go after him with pottery in his hands. Bastard. Robby took the bowls from Andreas with a smile and sent him and Tyler out to go fucking sit down already while he plated everything. 

“I should have been a waiter in another life, shit.” Robby said as he walked out a minute later with three full bowls balanced gracefully along one arm and some spoons in his other hand. 

He set the bowls down and pulled out his own chair. Tyler immediately moved to start eating, but Fabbs said _Wait,_ so Andreas and Tyler both paused and looked at him. 

Robby took his own spoon and reached into Andreas’ bowl for a bite. Andreas just blinked at him, taken aback. Fabbs swallowed, contemplated the taste, and reached across the table for the salt. He added a few shakes to Andreas’ bowl, mixed it around, and tried another bite. He paused, and then nodded to himself, and repeated the motion with Tyler’s food, adding the same amount of salt and stirring it in for him. 

“Okay, go ahead now.” He told them when he turned to fix his own bowl, eyes cast down. 

Andreas didn’t know why his heart was going so fast, suddenly, or why his face felt so flushed. Tyler was just grinning like a madman into his own bowl as he ate, like he won the fucking lottery or something. Robby smiled sideways at Andreas when he took his own first bite and sighed at the rich taste of the broth, salty and spicy, like chillies and herbs. It was great.

Below the table, Aspen was curled up on her side between everyone’s feet, lying quietly like the goodest girl in the world. Andreas ran the toe of his sock up and down her spine, and she stretched out with a sigh.  


* * *

  
Somewhere along the line, having Robby around had become as commonplace as having Andreas over. Maybe even moreso, because technically Robby only lived a few floors above Tyler in their building, and Andreas still had his condo in Midtown. But it kind of owned actually, ‘cause now Andreas had backup in his attempts to make Tyler act like a real adult human person.

Example: they had been tag-team bothering Tyler about his hair getting too long for weeks, but what had finally made him agree to a haircut was getting chirped by Mike Green, of all people, during practice because Tyler looked absolutely ragged. 

Andreas was still out on injury because sometimes his knee would tweak weird and hurt all afternoon, so he was still strictly not allowed to skate as a precaution, but he came and watched practices anyways. He and Mo had been hanging out on the bench a lot together. Andreas had caught Green shouting _something_ about Canadian bigfoot from his spot off-ice, but Tyler adamantly refused to elaborate on how Green had embarrassed him enough to warrant a haircut. Better yet, Green didn’t even pay attention to what he said half the time, so that one was an unfortunate mystery for the ages as far as Andreas was concerned. 

Still, it took an entire afternoon of wrangling to get Tyler forced down into an awkward kneel on the floor of Andreas’ bathroom. 

Robby carefully made his way around Tyler’s head, trimming the hair with a set of professional hair-cutting shears that Andreas had only ever seen at salons. Andreas didn’t even know where people would go to buy those. But Robby always seemed to take care about looking good, though, so it wasn’t really a surprise that he owned scissors like that. Andreas had sat on the counter next to the sink just to watch the whole endeavor. He was getting sick of sitting and watching his teammates do everything, of being excluded in weird and unintentional ways, but it’s not like he would actually be much help in this department, at least. So, he just sat next to the sink and tried to ignore the way it was starting to feel like the only thing he did anymore was sit next to the metaphorical sink and watch.

“Okay, Dre. How ‘bout this.” Tyler said as he looked up from the floor, up to where Andreas was perched. Robby made an annoyed noise and forcibly moved Tyler’s head back down so he was looking straight-ahead again.

“Stop moving around while I’m cutting your hair, bro. I’m trying to make you look nice here.” He said. Andreas grinned while Tyler rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Dre, listen to me, ‘kay? This is important.”

“Shoot, dude.” Andreas said, kicking his good foot against the cabinet doors below the countertop.

“‘Kay. Okay. Fuck, marry, kill… broccoli, peas, carrots.” Tyler said in a measured, casual voice. 

Behind him, Robby stopped snipping to sigh loudly. Andreas had basically doubled over in stitches of laughter as soon as he had started listing off vegetables. 

“I’m serious!” Tyler said with his jacked-up smile pointed up towards Andreas. Robby pulled sharply on a long strand of hair and Tyler looked straight again.

“I know,” Andreas said while he tried to catch his breath. “That’s why it’s funny.”

Robby gave him a skeptical look, like, _don’t humor him, he’s already so lame as it is,_ or maybe, _if you’re gonna humor him, at least don’t say you’d marry broccoli._

“I just don’t think people really wanna, like, fuck vegetables.”

Robby bit back a smile and focused back on Tyler’s hair. “Not even gonna touch that one, bud.” 

“What? Oh… ew.”

Tyler barked out his laugh, sweet and terribly loud. Andreas considered his answers. 

“I’d marry carrots, probably.” 

“Carrots?” Tyler was just straight up shouting now. Robby snipped along, undisturbed by the volume levels in the cramped bathroom. 

“Nothing for ya like hearty root vegetables, dude, come on. Plus they hold up well with basically any flavor you put on ‘em, sweet or savoury.” Andreas explained. Tyler’s face went weird, and then he nodded along like he appreciated that review after half a second of consideration. Robby flicked the back of his skull for moving.

“Ow! Fuck, Fabbs!” Tyler whined. “Knock it off, I’m sitting still!”

“Pansyass, that didn’t hurt.” Robby told him gently. “You can take crosschecks like a brick wall, but not a flick to the head?” 

“Your silky mitts can pack a punch, dude, lay off me.” Tyler said.

“I’d fuck peas, and then kill broccoli, I guess. Not that I’ve got anything against broccoli.” Andreas decided, confident in his choices.

“Nah, I get that. Sometimes that’s just the way a FMK shakes out at the end of the day.”

“I’d fuck peas too.” Robby said suddenly as he held the tips of Tyler’s hair between two fingers and cut the longer hairs even.

“Yeah? How come?” Andreas asked. Robby looked at Andreas with a smirk, really holding out for the direct eye contact.

“They’re sweet and tender, bro, all night long.” 

Andreas’ eyebrows shot up, and wasn’t really sure what kind of face he had made, but Robby winked at him before dropping his gaze back down to the ends of Tyler’s hair.

“Wow. He really thought that was so smooth, huh?” Tyler asked from down on the floor, sounding distinctly amused while Andreas sat on the counter, jaw dropped as he coughed out a laugh.  


* * *

  
A sprained knee wasn’t the end of his NHL career by any means, but it sure was a really fucking frustrating roadblock, especially considering the team’s position of being absolutely terrible. And when _ walking _ was the thing that set off flares of pain and sore muscles that lasted all afternoon, it’s not like Andreas could even get rid of all his pent-up energy through exercise, like he’d done for his whole life. All he had now was to aggressively clean all three of their apartments as a way to pass the time when he felt like shit. 

All in all, a lot of things just really sucked. All in all, Andreas was just really fucking over it. 

In the middle of doing Robby’s dishes, some vicious internal feeling in Andreas finally bubbled over. There was a scrap of food burnt to the side of a skillet, and no matter how intensely Andreas scrubbed, it just wouldn’t come off. He threw the pan back down into the sink out of frustration, cursing the entire time. The backsplash sent suds into the air and all over the wall behind the sink, metal crashing about dramatically in the basin. The resounding crash was loud, and short, and it felt good for a second. Andreas whipped the sponge into the soapy water too, just for good measure, to punctuate the moment. Fuck knee injuries. Fuck stress cleaning. Fuck everything.

When he looked around to see the splashes of water around him, on the walls and floor, any righteous frustration dulled pretty damn fast. He just felt stupid and a little guilty about the mess, now. Robby stuck his head into the kitchen, looking concerned.

“Everything okay?” He asked, entering the room cautiously, like he wasn’t really sure how to tame Andreas when he was angry, like giving him space was his best idea for now.

“Sorry.” Andreas just wiped his hands off on a spare dish-towel. “There’s some shit stuck on the pan.”

Robby nodded, like he understood why that was a viable excuse for the drama. He bit the inside of his lip, peeling the skin there back, and then asked, “Is it about your knee?” 

Andreas nodded, but was confused. “Yeah, but how’d you figure?”

“When I tore my ACL the second time I broke like, five plates on purpose. Cathartic dish smashing, or something.” Robby smiled at him softly. He padded across the room lightly, and leaned a hip up against the counter next to Andreas, arms crossed over his chest. 

“Sorry about the mess. I’ll wipe it up in a minute.” Andreas said. Robby shook his head like it wasn’t a big deal. 

“I get it. Like, why it’s so frustrating.” Robby said. Andreas grimaced at the implication that their knee injuries were even remotely on the same level.

“S’not like I tore my ACL twice or anything.” Andreas leaned against the counter too. 

“Well, different things can be shitty, it’s not always potentially career-ending injuries, or whatever. You can be mad cause you can’t play for a few weeks in the middle of a rebuild. No one’s gonna sue you for it.”

Since when did Fabbs get so fucking wise? 

“I’m just…” Andreas didn’t know what he was. Frustrated at himself, mad about the way this season was turning out, sick about his own stats, felt useless for the team, tired of his knee throbbing in pain when he moved even though it’d been three weeks yet. Throw a dart and pick a problem. 

“It just sucks, I guess.” He finished lamely, a heavy sigh rattling through his entire chest. Robby uncrossed his arms. He reached over and curled a hand around the back of Andreas’ neck. Andreas sighed. Closed his eyes. Robby’s hand was wide and warm, heavy enough to feel grounding.

“I know.” 

When Andreas looked up his eyelashes were damp. He coughed a few times to clear his throat before looking over to Robby. Fabbs moved his hand from behind Andreas’ neck and went to cradle his jaw, thumb running gently over his cheekbones. 

Robby kissing him was different than Tyler kissing him, but it wasn’t bad at all. Robby had a gentler edge, with a hestiance, like he wanted to prove himself somehow to Andreas. Tyler already knew exactly where he stood with Andreas and rarely slowed down once he knew he had the green-light for anything. Hell, Tyler would kiss Andreas just to be annoying and silly. It was different, now. Robby was still waiting for that positive feedback. Andreas was happy to give it to him. 

Andreas kissed him back eagerly and felt it when Robby smiled against his lips. Robby kissed him one more time, a little bit more firmly, and bit Andreas’ lower lip lightly before he pulled back. 

Andreas was blushing, and ducked his head down to hide his face against Robby’s neck and shoulder. Robby laughed and curled a hand over the nape of Andreas’ neck again. 

“Everything’ll be alright, bro. Just a few more weeks and you’ll be golden again.” Robby said.

“Promise?” Andreas mumbled.

“Promise.”  


* * *

  
Tyler had been weird and skittish all day and it was driving Andreas insane, because he’d consequently spent the whole afternoon lounging around _casually_ and sighing loudly every couple minutes. Andreas waited until Tyler got back home from his pre-movie gas station snack-run to finally ask.

“You gonna tell me what’s up, Tuzzi?” He asked once Tyler had settled into his spot on the couch, but not before he started sighing again. Tyler looked over at him, kind of surprised. He could be such a drama queen at times.

“Serious?”

“Just spit it out, bro.”

Tyler pulled his feet up underneath him, and curled up impossibly small again in the corner of the couch.

“I know movie nights are like, our jam, buddy, but I like… miss Robby?” Tyler confessed, like that was a huge mistake on his part. He fiddled with a hangnail on his thumb while Andreas processed.

“You want Robby over for movie night?” Andreas just wanted to be sure. It wasn’t entirely a bad prospect.

“Sorry?” Tyler asked, his nose wrinkling up like he was expecting to get in trouble. 

“Jesus, Tyler, I thought it’d be something serious. We can just text him to come downstairs and we’ll pick a better, actually good movie.” Andreas said. Any and all traces of the anxiety on Tyler’s face vanished instantly, replaced with his gap-toothed, too-wide smile that delighted Andreas in some deep, tender part of his chest. 

“Dope.” Tyler said, unable to stop smiling. 

“You’re gonna wanna look into getting a bigger couch though. Dunno if all three of us _and_ Aspen will fit on this thing.” 

Tyler stretched sideways, grabbing at his phone from a side-table, already pulling up his messenger app. 

“Well, we can go to Ikea or something together later.” 

“Oh, fuck yeah.” Andreas loved Ikea. Tyler’s phone buzzed with Robby’s reply.

“Kay, He’ll be down in a sec.” Tyler said as he stretched out sideways, claiming his spot with Andreas’ lap as his pillow. Andreas put a hand down, resting an arm along Tyler’s side. Aspen’s ears perked up and she trotted off towards the doorway, ready to wait and greet Robby at the door when he let himself inside to come join them.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry there was like very minimal plot in this I just think the dynamics of these three are so weird and funny & wanted to post this already


End file.
